Container for cigarettes



y 29, 1934- E. c. WAMELINK' 1,960,468

CONTAINER FOR C IGARETTES Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 29, 1934. E. c. WAMELINK CONTAINER FOR CIGARETTES Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

bbiE 31400111 01; gne ,4

dummy- Patented May 29, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to containers or carriers for cigarettes, and particularly to carriers designed to carry the cigarettes, in the original package in which they are sold.

Cigarettes, when packed by the manufacturer for sale, are customarily wrapped and sealed in a moisture proof preservative package, to preserve the freshness and flavor of the cigarettes, special materials, such as metal foil or the like, being employed. When such packages are opened by the user, the preservative wrapping is thereby broken and partially destroyed; or must, with pains and inconvenience, be carefully opened by unfolding portions thereof, so that these portions may be re-folded to restore the package to its original intact condition. Any attempt to remove cigarettes from the package by only partly destroying the preservative wrapping makes it difficult to remove the cigarettes and results in their mutilation.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide means for cutting or tearing partly through an original package of cigarettes in the generally longitudinal direction of the cigarettes in the package, whereby the package may be opened at said out by hingedly folding the package to give access to the cigarettes within and to permit the package to be re-folded to close said out to again entirely enclose and preserve said cigarettes.

Another object is to provide a carrier for a package of cigarettes, which package has been cut partly through along the generally longitudinal direction of the cigarettes therein and which box or carrier may be hingedly folded to hingedly fold the package of cigarettes contained therein to open the package along said out to give access to the cigarettes and which box may be closed by reversely folding the same to close up the package of cigarettes along said out and maintain it closed to preserve the cigarettes and protect the cigarettes therein.

Another object is to provide a carrier of the class described into which a package of cigarettes may be inserted and which is provided with cutting or tearing means by which the package in the box may be cut or torn or otherwise severed along the generally longitudinal direction of the cigarettes for the purpose described.

Another object is to provide a cutting device for cutting or creasing and cutting the wrapping material of a cigarette package along a generally straight line at which the package may be opened to give access to the cigarettes and closed again to preserve them.

My invention is fully disclosed in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of my invention showing a cigarette box or carrier containing a package of cigarettes and provided with a cutting device therefor;

Fig. 2 is a view of the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 1 with the parts in their operated positions;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken approximately from the plane 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken approximately from the plane 4 of Figs. 3 and 1;

Fig. 5 is a view to a larger scale of a cutter which I may employ and shown approximately natural size in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken from the 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modifiication of my invention.

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken approximately from the plane 8 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view taken approximately from the plane 9 of Figs. 7 and 8.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view to an enlarged scale of a cutter which I may employ in this connection with the modification of Figs. 7 and 8 and shown approximately naturalv size in those figures.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 8 and to the same scale as Fig. 10 of the cutter and may be also considered as taken approximately from the plane 11 of Fig. 10.

Referring to Fig. l, I show at 1a package of cigarettes and a box or carrier therefor. The box comprises an inner liner 3, preferably of metal, having a top 4, sides 55 and a bottom 6. The top 4 is divided or split longitudinally as at 7 and the bottom 6' is also divided or split longitudinally as at 8; and the two bottom portions 9 and 10 thus formed are hingedly plane connected by hinges 11--11 shown in Figs. 3

and 4. To make the box of light weight and to render it flexible and resilient to better grip and hold the package of cigarettes therein, longitudinal perforations 12 may, if desired, be provided in the top, sides and bottom. The. hinges 11 preferably comprise convolutions of resilient wire, as clearly illustrated in Fig, 4, the free ends 13--13 of which are anchored in any suitable way to the bottom portions 9 and 10.

The metal liner 3 is preferably covered with covering material 2 which may be leather or any of the materials suitable and desirable for such purposes, as shown at 16.

In the top of the box is provided an open longitudinal slot 14. In the slot, and mounted for longitudinal movement back and forth therein is a cutter device 15 to be more fully described later and by which the top layers of the cigarette wrapping or package may be out through substantially from end to end, when the said device is moved back and forth in the slot.

When the cigarette package has been cut as above described, the box 2 may be folded or opened along the line of the hinges 11, and it will then appear as shown in Fig. 2. The cut made by the cutter may be in only the upper side of the package in the position illustrated, but the act of opening the box on its hinges will extend the cut by tearing the ends as shown at 1717 and 18-18.

By holding the box in the position of Fig. 2, access may be had to the cigarettes and upon releasing one side of the box, the resilient hinges 11 will operate to close up the box, bringing the cut and torn edges of the cigarette package together and holding them together. The box will now serve as a carrier for the cigarettes. By completely closing the package along the cut or torn edges thereof, the package is sealed, thus preserving the quality of the cigarettes and furthermore, the cigarettes are protected against mutilation when the box is closed by the metal liner 3 surrounding them.

The cutting device referred to is shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and comprises a tubular handle 19 open along one longitudinal side thereof, the

- lower side as illustrated, at 21 to receive a cutter blade 22 to be described, and provided at the lower edges of the opening 21 with outwardly directed flanges 2020. The handle 19 when engaged with the slot 14 is guided to slide therein by the flanges 20 adjacent to the inner face of the box top 4 and by the lower outer tubular surface 23 adjacent to the upper side of the box top 4 as shown in Fig. 6. The cutter blade 22 is generally rectangular in shape, its lower or cutting edge being provided with three projections thereon 24, 25 and 26.

The projections 24' and 25 are preferably convexly curved in profile and not sharp enough to cut, their function being to keep the package material pressed down, as illustrated at 2'7, and to balance and guide the projection 26 which is the cutter proper, it having a sharp point 28 and cutting edges 2929, and being longer than the projections 24 and, 25 so as to pierce and extend through the package material 2'7.

To secure the cutter blade 22 in the handle 19, it is provided with a plurality, preferably three, transverse perforations 30 and 31 and the material of the handle 19 is pressed, driven or riveted into these perforations as shown in Fig. 6 at 32, and preferably this operation is performed from one side, as in Fig. 6, in connection with two of the perforations 3030, and on the Opposite side, not shown, for the perforation 31. The cutter blade is thus rigidly secured in the handle 19. Thus, by asimple construction, the

cutter is adapted to be guided in the slot 14 of the box and the cutting elements are suitably positioned relative to the package material to be cut, and the cutter is trapped in the slot 14 and cannot become displaced or detached from the box.

In the modification of my invention, shown in Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, the leather or like cover is omitted and the box is preferably wholly of metal or other suitable similar material which is susceptible of a pleasing finish such as polish, sand, etc. The top is divided or slit longitudinally as at 50 and the two parts 55 and 56 of the bottom are hinged as at 5151. A spring 52 preferably supported on the pintle of the hinges 51 is adapted to hold the two parts of the box thus provided in their closed position. One end of the box in this modification is preferably closed by end walls 53 and 54, respectlvely, which may be secured to the bottoms 56 and 55, or to the top portions or side portions of the box, as may be preferred.

I preferably provide the end walls 53 and 54 with tongues 57 and 58 mutually overlapping the walls 53 and 5 to guide the edges of the box into engaged alignment when it closes and to assist in holding it in shape if made of thin flexible material.

To support and guide the cutter 59 of this modification, one of the top portions 60 is folded inwardly and back on itself as at 61 to form a slot or groove internally of the box. A cutter formed from sheet metal may be inserted in the slot 61 at one end of the box and trapped therein by closing, pinching together or otherwise closing the slot 61 at the ends thereof.

The cutter shown in Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive will now be described. The slot 61, see Fig. 11, is

formed as above described, by bending the top 60 downwardly as at 6% and inwardly as at 66 to form the slot 61. The cutter, which is preferably formed of sheet metal, comprises a top 62 slidable on the box top 60; an end wall 63 lying vertically in the slot 50 and slidably engaging, the turned over portion 64; a bottom 65, slidably engaging the lower surface of the turned in portion 66; an end portion 68 turned up over the edge of the turned in portion 66; and a tongue portion 67 turned inwardly to slidably engage the walls of the slot 61. The cutter thus formed can only move longitudinally in the slot 61 as will be understood, and cannot be displaced there out of laterally. A handle or head 69 may be secured to the top 62 of the cutter by which it may be pushed back and forth. Cutter teeth '70, 71 and '72 are formed out of the bottom 65 of the cutter by cutting and bending tongues of the material thereof downwardly, as shown for the cutter 71 in Fig. 11.

The cutter "I1 is preferably provided with a sharp point and cutting edges shown in Fig. 10; the cutters '70 and '72 are preferably not so sharp as the cutter '71 and are slightly shorter than the cutter '71, their function, as in the form of cutter in Figs. 5 and 6, being more to crease the cigarette wrapper and partially cut it than to cut entirely through it; they also assist the cutter '71 in making a clean out be. cause there is a tendency for the relatively soft material of the cigarette wrapper to clog around the single cutter, such as '71.

The operation of the modification shown in Figs. '7 to 11 inclusive is the same as that of Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive.

In either of the forms of my invention in which a cutter is employed it is obviously desirable that the cut in the package wrapping material may be made between two adjacent cigarettes in the package to avoid mutilating the cigarettes, thus for packages in which there is an even number of cigarettes in the layer, the cutter may be disposed on the box so as to cut the package on its medial line or on a line spaced therefrom by a distance equal to the width of one or more cigarettes; and for packages in which the layer of cigarettes contains an odd number of cigarettes, it is preferable to cut the package correspondingly at one side or the other of the medial line.

My invention is not limited to the exact forms shown and described. Other modifications of the embodiment thereof may be made within the scope of my invention.

While I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to cigarette packages and carrier therefor, it will be understood that my invention is applicable to packages and carriers for other and various things such as candy, nut

meats, etc. All such applications of my invention are included within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a carrier for cigarettes, a box structure adapted to enclose and hold a package of cigarettes, a slot in one side of the box, a cutting device mounted for to and fro movement in the slot and adapted to cut the wrapping material of a package of cigarettes in the box, the box being adapted to be folded along a line in the side of the box opposite the side provided with the slot whereby a package of cigarettes in the box may be broken open by folding the box to give access to the cigarettes in the package and whereby the box may be closed to close up the broken edges of the package to re-enclose the cigarettes in the package.

2. In a device of the class described, a box structure for enclosing and holding a package of cigarettes, a slot in the box structure and a cutter adapted to be reoiprocated in the slot to cut the Wrapping material of the cigarette package, said cutter comprising a handle disposed exteriorly of the box structure, opposing grooves in the handle embracing the opposite edges of the said slot to guide the cutting device, and a cutting blade secured to the handle having a cutting edge disposed inwardly of the box.

3. In a device of the class described, a box structure for enclosing and holding a package of cigarettes, a slot in the box structure and a cutter adapted to be reciprocated in the slot to cut the wrapping material of the cigarette package, said cutter comprising a handle disposed exteriorly of the box structure, opposing grooves in the handle embracing the opposite edges of the said slot to guide the cutting device, and a cutting blade secured to the handle having a cutting edge disposed inwardly of the box, and comprising an inwardly directed cutting edge.

4. In a device of the class described, a box structure for enclosing and holding a package of cigarettes, a groove in the box structure and a cutter adapted to be reoiprocated in the groove to cut wrapping material of the cigarette package, said cutter comprising a handle disposed exteriorly of the box structure, and provided with a cutting portion and a plurality of auxiliary creasing portions cooperative therewith, the cutting portion being positioned linearly between the creasing portions.

5. In a holder for cigarette packages, the combination comprising a pair of similar receiving members having one set of adjacent edges hingedly secured together, and an opposite set adapted to abut when said members are closed, said members having one end open to receive a cigarette package, one of said members being provided with a cutting member for slitting said package when slid through said open end.

6. In a holder for cigarette packages, the combination comprising a pair of similar receiving members open at one end and having one set of adjacent edges hingedly secured together, and an opposite set adapted to abut when said members are closed, and means on one of said members including an interiorly projecting cutting member for slitting a cigarette package longitudinally.

7. In a holder for cigarette packages, the combination comprising a pair of similar receiving members having one set of adjacent edges hingedly secured together, and an opposite set adapted to abut when said members are closed, said members having one end open to receive a cigarette package slidably in a direction parallel to said hinged edges, one of said members being provided with cutting means for slitting said package longitudinally when slid through said open end.

EUGENE C. WAMELINK. 

